Improvement in machinery for finishing coffin nail and screw heads



v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AUGUSTUS A. RANDALL, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOE TQ SARGENT SiCO., OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINERY FOR FINISHING COFFIN NAIL AND SCREW HEADS.

Speciiication forming part of Letters Patent No. 55,783, dated J nnc 19,1866.

To all 'whom it may concern Beit known that I, AUGUSTUS A. RANDALL, ofNew Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, haveinvented a new Improvement in Machines for Finishing Coffin Nail andScrew Heads; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings and the letters of referencemarked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same,and which said drawings constitute part of this specication, andrepresent, in

Figure 1, a top view; Fig. 2, a front view; Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8,detached parts and sectional views to illustrate the operations of myinvention; Fig. 9, a nail as it enters the machine, and in Fig. 10 thesame nail finished.

My invention relates to an improvement in machinery for finishing lnetalheads of nails, screws, 85e., such as are used for coflins, and forpad-screws, Snc.; and it consists in a mechanism for receiving the nailor screw and automatically finishing and discharging the nail or screwfrom the machine.

To enable others skilled in the art to construct and use my improvement,I will proceed to describe the same as illustrated in the accompanyin gdrawings.

A is the bed-plate, upon which the operative parts of the machine areplaced 5 B, t-he driving-shaft, supported in bearings C and caused torevolve by the application of power to the pulley D.

E is a channel (see Figs. 5 and 4) formed to receive a number of screwsor nails to be finished. They are placed therein one above another, thepoints projecting therefrom, .as seen in Fig. 4.

F is a spindle supported in bearings G, and caused to revolve rapidly bythe application of power to the pulley H. The said spindle F is arrangedrelatively to the channel E so that when a nail lies in the position ata, Fig. 3, the nail and spindle will be concentric.

I is a spindle supported in bearings K, also concentric to the spindleF, (see Figs. 1, 3, and 4,) its inner end formed to receive the lower orirst screw or nail when in the position as denoted in red, Fig. 4. Thusreceiving the screw or nail, thesaid spindle I is advanced, by theaction of the cam L, through the lever M, and,

thus advanced, carries the first nail forward and inserts it into thespindle F, as seen in Fig. 4.

During this transfer of the nail from the channel to the spindle it isretained in the spindle I by a finger, N, (see Figs. 3 and 4,) which, assoon as the nail has been inserted into the spindle, is dropped to theposition denoted in red, Fig. 3, by the action of the cam-plate O, (seeFig. 1,) the said finger being advanced with the spindle I. Thecam-plate O acts to thus move the linger N by the shaft P, to which itis attached. This leaves the nail in the spindle F, rapidly revolving,to be turned and burnished, the spindle I and linger N retreating totheir position to receive a second nail.

The first operation is to remove the surplus metal. This is done by acutter, b. (See Fig.

5.) The said cutter is advanced tocut awaythe surplus metal, as from theposition in Fig. 5 tothat in Fig. 6, by the action of a cam, c, or ashaft, d. The said shaft d is caused to revolve by gears from thedriving-shaft, as seen in Figs. l and 2. Having been thus moved up andcut away the surplus metal, the cutter is, by the continued movement ofthe cam, returned to the position seen in Fig. 5.

The next operation is milling or ornamenting. This is done by a mill,f,(see Fig. 5,) advanced to bear upon the nail-head, as seen in Fig. 7, bythe cam e on the shaft g, which said shaft gis caused to revolve bygears from the shaft d, as seen in Figs. 1 and 2. The mill f ornamentsthe head by rotating thereon in the usual manner for milling by hand,the reverse of the ornamentation being made on the mllf.

At the same time that this ornamentation is being made a burnisher, i,is advanced by the action ofthe cani 7c on the shaft h, as from theposition in Fig. 5 to that in Fig. 7, the shaft lL being revolved iiilike manner on the shafts d and g. The said burnisher is hung in acarriage, l, to which a lateral movement is given, as from the positionin red to that in black, Fig. 7, by means of a cam, m, on the shaft h,acting through another cam, a, on a shaft-,12. (See Figs. 2 and 7.) Theburnisher t' finishes the top or face of the nail, while a secondburnisher, r, (see Fig. 8,) attached-to the same support as theburnisher i, burnishes the edge of the head, both the said burnishersbeing formed according to the shape of the head to be finished.

This operation of milling,` and burnishing` nishes the head, which beingdone the mill and burnis'her return to the position seen in Fi'g. 5, theiinished nail being` still retained in the spindle f. To remove thefinished nail therefrom preparatory to the insertion of a sec- 0nd nail,arrange a slide, s, over the spindle f, as seen in Fig. 4, the saidslide being` attached to a shaft, T, which is moved, as from theposition in black to that denoted in red, Fig. 4, by means of a cam, U,ou the shaft g through a lever, W. The slide s draws the nail from thespindle, which, when freed therefrom, drops from the machine, completeand finished, into a receptacle prepared for the purpose. 'A second nailis now advanced in like manner as the first for the same operation, andthus continuing, each nail in the channel E is successively I iresentedand finished, it only being required to keep a supply in the channel.

The adjustment and form of the cutter, mill, and burnisher will, ofcourse, depend upon the style ofthe head to be produced. If no ornamentation upon the head is required, the mill should be detached; or ifthe head is to he ornamented entire, then the burnisher should bedetached.

I therefore do not confine myself to the combination of a cutter,ornameutiug-mill, and burnisher; but,

Having thus full;r described my invention, what I claim as new anduseful, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of the spindles F and I, iingers N, and channel E,constructed and arranged to operate substantially iu the manner and forthe purpose specified.

2. In combination with the above, the cutter b, willf, and a burnisher,substantially as and for the purpose specified.

AUG. A. RANDALL. Witnesses:

JOHN E. EARLE, M. A. HINE.

